Reckoning With Logic
by Stoko
Summary: What if Clark wasn’t so determined to totally whitewash the truth? Would a partial answer’ve been too much to ask? CLana, short Reckoning AU. One shot. 1,278 words.


Description: CLana, short Reckoning AU. One shot. 1,278 words.

Summary: What if Clark wasn't so determined to totally whitewash the truth? Would a partial answer've been too much to ask?

Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville, I'm not affiliated with anyone related to Smallville, and I didn't write the lines for the first part of this story, I ripped them from the episode to set the context. I'm going to make no profit from this, and I have no money anyway, which is fair warning should any trigger happy American lawyers decide I'm worth suing. That's about it, I think.

Rambling Author: (Note, feel free to skip all this :P) OK, so I just saw Reckoning. Clark handled that time travel stuff like a complete idiot, in my opinion. Chloe was totally right, all they had to do was prevent the accident, not end the relationship. If only she'd been in the barn to step in and whisper that little fact in his ear. Of course, she wasn't. But let's keep our perspective here, Clark acted that way because the writers decided he should. So I'm sat here, and I'm thinking, 'Hey, I can write'. Maybe not very well, I admit, but if you write something, you could be considered a writer, right? And if the Smallville writers can make Clark act one way, I don't see why I can't make him act another. Maybe Chloe doesn't need to whisper her words of wisdom, maybe I can do it, instead.

So that's my reasoning behind this little ficlet. I realise there'll be a billion of these popping up, but still. So OK, it's my version of what should've happened in Reckoning, IMO. Also, looking back on it, I may've included far too much of the original scene, and I seem to've gone pretty wordy and descriptive, so if that's off-putting or gets in the way, then don't read it, just leave a review saying as much :P I've also told it in a weird, third person past tense style, which felt right at the time, but might totally fail in your eyes. Whatever, love it, hate it, I'd love to hear from you either way.

On with it )

**Reckoning With Logic**

It was sudden, more than that, it was instantaneous. The instant he grabbed the crystal, it changed. It's texture, it's size, it was suddenly enclosed in the palm of his hand. But that wasn't what happened. That's just what his mind believed, in the seconds before it caught up with it's surroundings. He wasn't holding the crystal anymore, he was holding a piece of coal. A piece of coal he'd turned into a diamond for his fiancée, less than a day before.

He looked up, in shock. Found himself in his barn's loft. There were footsteps audible behind him, but even for his extended hearing abilities he was totally unaware of them, until their owner spoke.

"I brought gloves and a scarf like you said," she spoke, totally unaware of the reason for the look of surprise he now wore as he walked towards her.

"You're here," he said, his voice almost monotone, the shock so great the fact still hadn't quite registered in his mind, or his heart.

That was soon remedied, as he took her into his arms and held her as if he'd just recently thought he would never again have the chance.

She laughs in surprise at his perceived overreaction, stating what to her was the complete obvious, "Of course I'm here, Clark".

A moment passes as he savours the feeling of holding her in his arms, breathing in her scent and just simply enjoying the fact that she was with him again. He releases her eventually, prompting her to deliver what must've been a line she'd been practicing in advance.

"I'm just not sure a mystery date is exactly what our relationship needs right now," she said, in a tone suggesting she almost wanted to be proven wrong, for it to be that simple.

But he's heard that line before, and knows the mystery date he had planned would've been exactly what to do to save their relationship. He wasn't quite sure how to reply, and she pushed forward with "So um, where're you taking me?".

He looked down at her, and his heart almost broke yet again. He heard the practically naked hope in her voice, saw it in her eyes. But he didn't want to do what he did before, he couldn't, and he fumbled, unprepared.

"I just thought we could spend the day together," he filled in, trying to stall for time while his brain worked out a solution.

"Ah, that part I kinda figured, uhm, but it was the quote 'day that I'll never forget' that I was a little curious about," she practically breathed, the happiness in her voice at the prospect of Clark giving her such a day even more evident.

Unfortunately, the time he bought with that throwaway comment hadn't been nearly enough.

"Right… um… well… I thought we could go for a drive, maybe, up to the lake and…" he paused, clueless as to what he was going to say. But it was too late, her face was already falling, it shifted quickly from hope, to disappointment, to anger. But all this went unnoticed, as he had turned his back while continuing, "uhm, but you know with this, with this cold snap we're having the bridges are probably iced over so we should just stay here," he finished, rushing the end of his sentence as if almost proud he'd made up a lie that even half made sense in such a short time.

But by then, she was glowering. She made no attempt to hide her anger and pain as she said "Don't you think I know by now when you're lying?"

But he had no reply. With unshed tears shining in her eyes, she didn't wait for one. Instead, with a tone of resignation, she told him to "just… just say something. Anything," knowing well the game they were now playing, almost daring him to play the move she predicted he would.

And he did. He played dumb, as if he was still talking about their lake trip that hadn't existed a minute earlier.

"You know it wasn't a big deal. Really, I mean.. Trust me, it was…" he trailed off, interrupted as she made one last plea for anything even resembling the truth.

"Clark, you know that goes both ways," she'd said.

"Lana I.." he began, but again she took the lead.

"Don't. Unless it's the truth," she instructed, although it was clear she'd decided she wasn't going to get that today. But still, she looked up at him, into his eyes, searching for even a hint of that.

He sighed, deeply, and this caught her attention. It was a break in his façade, in his armour. Not taking his eyes off the floor, he whispered something she could barely hear.

"Clark, what did you say?" she asked, the angry tinge to her voice fading into a kind of timid curiosity. She could sense there'd been some kind of change, that this wasn't the normal game of lies any more, and she wasn't sure what to expect.

It surprised her then, when he looked up suddenly and stared deeply into her eyes, repeating himself, "I'm saving your life."

"What do you mean, Clark? What, you mean your secret is going to kill me?" she asked, almost flippantly, which she immediately regretted when she saw the immense pain that formed in his expression, even as he tried to slip it behind the well practiced mask.

"Lana, you say you know by now when I'm lying to you. So I hope that when I say this, you know I'm telling you the truth. I told you my secret today, Lana. I told you everything. And you were OK with it, and you promised me we'd always be together. Then at 11:02pm Lex was chasing you in his car, he knew you knew, and there was an accident. You died. You died, and I begged for a chance to save your life," he paused. Allowing his words to hang a little, as something new came to his mind, "Remember that time with Adam? The phone call, from the future? This is like that, only… more. I lost you, Lana, in the worst way. If not telling you my secret means we can't be together any more, as bad as that'd be I'd take it in a heartbeat if it meant saving your life," he finished, hoping that how insane he sounded wouldn't sway her belief in him.

It didn't. As crazy as it sounded, the emotion in his voice, in his eyes, she could tell he was being honest with her. About every single word. But even suspending her disbelief for the sci-fi-like parts, there was one thing she couldn't quite understand.

"But Clark, if what you say is true… telling me your secret didn't get me killed. You're assuming responsibility where it isn't yours. My talking to Lex is what got him chasing me, and you yourself said it was an accident that I was run off the road. Forewarned is forearmed, Clark. Now that we know what can happen, we can change it. I won't see Lex today, no matter what. If I'm in my car at 11pm, I'll pull over for 10 minutes just to be safe. Please Clark, if you're telling me the truth, and I believe that you are, then my death is only a possibility now. Telling me your secret won't guarantee that possibility because you've also told me all of this," she finished her own spiel, hoping against hope he'd see the logic.

Fortunately, he did.

"In that case… there's something I should've shown you a long time ago."

The End.

A/N: Right, OK. So I wrote this in about 40 minutes. I realise I could've gone further, but I didn't see much point. I imagine from there onwards it'd follow the beginning of the episode, the caves, the fortress, up until Lex called Lana at the election party. Then, as said, she'd ignore the call. She wouldn't drive off, all'd be well there. Unfortunately, that'd segue into Jonathan Kent's heart attack, but as much as that sucks it's pretty much one of the inescapable Superman events, it pretty much had to happen at some point.

Also, the title sucks. I know. But I couldn't come up with a better one, and it does have a double meaning. Both "reckoning with logic", as reference to Lana reckoning against Clark's stubbornness with her quite logical speech at the end, which convinces Clark to share his secret anyway. Then "_Reckoning_ with logic", as in, what course the episode would've (IMO) logically would've followed. Of course, if they wanted Mr. Kent to die of a heart attack, they probably want Clark to end up with Lois, so that's probably why they didn't leave Clark and Lana together. But they should've P


End file.
